Lion International Bank invested close to half a billion Birr in acquiring an eight-storey building in Bole District as its first property.

Located between Berhane Adere and Mafi City malls on Cameroon Street, Blue Moon was owned by Beyene Bizuayneh (MD), an individual who initially borrowed 40 million Br from Oromia International Bank (OIB) but failed to service his loan. Beyene is an ophthalmologist and runs eyeglass stores.

OIB auctioned off the building with a floor price of 99 million Br on July 3, 2019, to recover the loan it gave to Beyene. Five companies, including Lion, vied during the auction process. Along with Lion, Awash International Bank and three individuals offered bids to acquire the building.

Lion won the bid with the highest value of 470 million Br. Awash was the second-highest bidder with 450 million Br, while one of the three individuals made the third-highest offer of 260 million Br.

Resting on 1,352Sqm of land, the construction of the building has not been finished. Up to the fourth floor, the building is already being rented out to offices, while the rest of the floors are currently undergoing finishing work and were intended to be used as guesthouses.

It is a strategic move as an investment at one of the prime locations of the capital, according to Wondwossen Gashaw, director of procurement and facility management of Lion, which was founded in 2006 with 3,739 shareholders and an initial paid-up capital of 108.2 million Br.

Currently, the Bank is conducting a feasibility study to decide how to monetise the property, according to Wondwossen.

"We're weighing our options on whether or not to use the building for a headquarters," he toldFortune.